TY - JOUR
T1 - Carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity in obese children and adolescents
T2 - The potential bias of tape distance measuring
AU - Hvidt, Kristian Nebelin
AU - Olsen, Michael Hecht
AU - Holm, Jens Christian
AU - Ibsen, Hans
PY - 2013/9/1
Y1 - 2013/9/1
N2 - Background: The recommendation for carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cfPWV) is to use a calliper to measure the aortic length as a straight line. In adults, it has been shown that tape follows the body contours potentially making the distance longer - ultimately a higher cfPWV - interpreted as a higher aortic stiffness. Our objective was to investigate to what extent a tape measurement is influenced by abdominal obesity in children and adolescents. Methods: In a cross-sectional design, 100 obese patients with age 10-18 years were compared to 50 healthy control individuals. CfPWV was measured by applanation tonometry. The aortic length was determined with tape and a calliper (distance-tape and distance-calliper). The bias of the tape measurements was calculated as distance-tape minus distance-calliper. Results: The bias of the tape measurements (mean±SD) was significant in both the obese (δ 14.6±11.2mm, P<0.0001) and the control group (δ 5.7±5.8mm, P<0.0001), and showed a linear relationship with waist-height ratio in the obese group (obese: β=96.9, CI: 75.3-118.5, P<0.0001). Likewise, cfPWV was significantly higher when tape was used for the distance measurements in both groups (P values <0.0001). In multiple regression, however, cfPWV for both tape and calliper were significantly lower in the obese compared to the control group (P values <0.01). Conclusions: The bias of the tape measurements was related to the degree of abdominal obesity. Our results emphasize the importance of the use of a calliper when evaluating cfPWV in obese children and adolescents.
AB - Background: The recommendation for carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cfPWV) is to use a calliper to measure the aortic length as a straight line. In adults, it has been shown that tape follows the body contours potentially making the distance longer - ultimately a higher cfPWV - interpreted as a higher aortic stiffness. Our objective was to investigate to what extent a tape measurement is influenced by abdominal obesity in children and adolescents. Methods: In a cross-sectional design, 100 obese patients with age 10-18 years were compared to 50 healthy control individuals. CfPWV was measured by applanation tonometry. The aortic length was determined with tape and a calliper (distance-tape and distance-calliper). The bias of the tape measurements was calculated as distance-tape minus distance-calliper. Results: The bias of the tape measurements (mean±SD) was significant in both the obese (δ 14.6±11.2mm, P<0.0001) and the control group (δ 5.7±5.8mm, P<0.0001), and showed a linear relationship with waist-height ratio in the obese group (obese: β=96.9, CI: 75.3-118.5, P<0.0001). Likewise, cfPWV was significantly higher when tape was used for the distance measurements in both groups (P values <0.0001). In multiple regression, however, cfPWV for both tape and calliper were significantly lower in the obese compared to the control group (P values <0.01). Conclusions: The bias of the tape measurements was related to the degree of abdominal obesity. Our results emphasize the importance of the use of a calliper when evaluating cfPWV in obese children and adolescents.
KW - Adolescence
KW - Aortic stiffness
KW - Children
KW - Methodology
KW - Obesity
KW - Pulse wave velocity
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84887615315&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.artres.2013.09.003
DO - 10.1016/j.artres.2013.09.003
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84887615315
SN - 1872-9312
VL - 7
SP - 234
EP - 237
JO - Artery Research
JF - Artery Research
IS - 3-4
ER -